The present invention relates to water irrigation systems, and also to drip irrigation devices and saddle clamps particularly useful in such systems.
The conventional water irrigation system includes a water supply line feeding an irrigation line or a plurality of such lines (commonly called laterals), each line having a plurality of irrigation devices (e.g., dripper devices or sprinkler devices) connected along the length of the line. In the conventional irrigation system, the pressurized water is applied at one end, (the inlet end) of the respective irrigation line or lateral, and is discharged by the irrigation devices along the length of the line. Because of the pressure drop occuring along the length of the line, the number of irrigation devices which can be connected in a single line is significantly limited, and/or each irrigation device is provided with a pressure regulator, in order to maintain a fairly uniform output from all the irrigation devices along the length of the line.